Pirates of the Seas
by lightwolf8
Summary: [rewritten version in honor of the WWHD release] Few can say that the search for a new Hyrule is one filled with good fortune. Both Tetra and Link know this as well as anyone, and it seems that the world itself will move against them to stop them: all in the form of a group of rowdy pirates whose captain is as much of a mystery as she is a challenge.
1. Chapter 1

**_Pirates of the Seas: I_**

The smell of salt hung heavy in the air, still and calm during the hot summer afternoon. Sweat and seawater beaded on the necks of every man who stood above deck on the ship that gently rocked to and fro. The only sound was the occasional grunt or sigh and the crash of foamy waves against the sturdy wood of the ship's hull.

The world was, at that current point in time, entirely satisfying for a group of supposed ragtag pirates.

And that in itself was the strangest thing of all. Tetra, leader of the pirates and a girl with a sharp sense of wit to every breath she drew, leaned against the railing of the deck, peering out into the endless sea. She squinted in the waves as she tried to understand what exactly was going on around her.

Each and every man in her crew was, for once, doing what was required of them. Such organization brought more stress to Tetra's mind than anything, and she quickly turned herself around and scanned the deck.

The wooden boards were spotless, and nothing seemed out of order. She clenched and unclenched her fists, trying to figure out what it was. Sure, many of her crewmates might criticize her for her underestimation of them, but this was entirely different. It was too perfect, and it made her suspicious.

And she knew exactly who was the one in charge of keeping the deck orderly, and exactly who the one that was the fault of most of her unease.

"Nudge!" she called out, her patience finally wearing thin.

"What is it, Miss?" Nudge made his wave over from where he tended to the catapult. Large and intimidating, he stood almost an entire foot taller than Tetra and thrice her breadth. His long black hair was growing unruly, and it hung around his face in a tangled nest. Tetra wished to criticize him for it, but what was the point? She was busy with other things at the moment.

With a tap of her foot she asked, "What's going on?"

Obvious discomfort twisted at the sharp features of the man's face. "What do you mean?" he asked slowly, as if he were testing his captain's temperament before he said anything that could get the entire crew into trouble.

"You know what I mean." She folded her arms across her chest, and immediately Nudge straightened and began to speak.

"Well, from what I've heard so far everything is in order. Or will be. Now, you know I don't like to associate myself with-"

"Nudge!"

"Link and Niko made a mess of the fish in the storage and have been trying to make sure you don't find out. They've been working to clean it up before you could catch them at it, and I told them you'd know. They just didn't listen and-"

Tetra didn't wait to hear what the rest of Nudge's words. No, instead she fingered at the sword at her waist and stalked below deck. She passed off her own room and near-sprinted down the stairs to the hold of the ship.

She tried the door, but it was locked. So she pressed her ear to the wood to see what exactly was going on inside. And, just like above deck, it was far too quite. So she took a step back and studying the door for a moment. She reached into her pockets and withdrew her lock picks before setting to work.

The lockeclicked open with ease, and Tetra quietly crept in, closing the door behind her. The smell of fish hit her without warning, and it took a moment for her to recover. Two backs faced her, and with ease she knew exactly who they were.

"We're officially dead men," Niko was saying. "Dead, dead, dead..."

"We're not dead," answered Link. "We can clean this up in no time. We'll just work in the night so it doesn't reek, and so Tetra doesn't see us. Then its just a whole ton of fish to throw back into the ocean."

Tetra crossed her arms. She knew by the way Niko wrought his hands in his red and white striped shirt and the way Link's bare shoulders stiffened as he spoke.

"The Miss'll have our heads."

"No, she won't. I hardly think she'd kill the man who's saved her ass from danger all those times past. Which is, I'll admit, very-"

"Very what, Link?" Tetra asked finally. Her voice dripped with false adoration as she spoke.

The supposed Hero near jumped out of his skin. Both he and Niko whipped around to be face-to-face with their captain, who stood in a dreadful silence.

"Oh! Tetra, we were just- just, y'know..." he trailed off. His face was red, either from the sun or from embarrassment, Tetra did not know-nor did she care.

Niko slowly backed away and moved behind Link. In his opinion, and quite possibly that of the crew, an angered Tetra brought about no content minds for what could be weeks on end. An angered Tetra typically brought about knots of muscles and deep-set aches and pains where one might think they could never even get such.

With a heavy sigh Tetra buried her face into her palms. She rubbed at her temples, telling herself it would all be over soon and ignoring the fact that she knew it to be a lie. The trio stood in silence, Tetra too stressed to even speak, and Link and Niko having no words due to the fear that held them back.

But the silence went on too long, and eventually Niko spoke up saying, "Miss, I realize that-" But he was silenced by a sharp look on Tetra's part.

Link took a step forward, ignoring the angry scowl on her face. "Listen, we'll fix this up, don't-"

"No!" she said finally. "You listen! You both listen! Do you hear me? Clean this up now before the entire ship reeks. It's only supposed to get hotter, and do you even realize- do you even know how damned immature this is! Why can I not even see the fish! No, don't answer that! Just clean this up now."

Link and Niko exchanged an uneasy look, and Tetra pushed at Link's chest in annoyance. "I said NOW."

She turned on her heels and left the room, slamming the door shut behind her. She near sprinted up the stairs and into her own chamber. She shut the newly-added door with just as much force as that of the hold's.

Tetra wanted to scream, but settled instead for burying her face into her pillow and rolling onto her back. Just once she desired everything to actually work out and that no one would make a mess of it. Day after day someone was doing something that they weren't supposed to be doing, and it pissed her off. It had gotten to the point where no one would even listen to her at times, and more often than not she was forced to assert her authority in ways she'd rather not be reminded of.

In ways that happened to be part of her very essence, which the thought of simply drove her mad. She took in a deep breath as she tried to calm herself. Now, whenever something needed to be done, she would have to curse each and every one of her crewmembers, and remind them who she was.

They could not deny her, for she was a princess. She near snarled at the word, and each time she spoke it a sour taste was left in her mouth. There was a severe difference between the title of princess and that of pirate captain, and she very much did not enjoy it. If it were up to her she would only be a captain, renowned among all pirates, but no, such was not the case. She was just a princess playing pirate.

Sometimes she wished that everything would go back to normal and that she had never been tossed up on the mountain back on Outset all those years ago. Well, it wasn't that long of a time, she thought. Five years only, but five years out of all seventeen of her life was rather significant especially when it involved having her life completely thrown around.

Tetra sat up, sitting cross-legged on her bed. She did miss the old times, when it was only her, the sea, and her crew. And, once upon a time, even her mother. But thoughts of old family never lasted very long, for she could not remember them much. The only reminder she had was the portrait of her mother that stood upon her dresser for as long as she could remember.

Occasionally she would ask her crew about her parents, taking them to the side when they were feeling particularly amiable towards each other and asking them about who exactly her esteemed pirate captain or a mother, or even father were. But whether it be in sorrow or in secrecy, each of the men kept their lips tightly guarded.

She would give up her title of princess to know, or even that of pirate captain. She shuddered at such a thought. What would she have done with her life then? Live on an sun-stricken island in the ocean of a flooded kingdom? Such an idea was hardly appealing.

But would it have been better than her current position? Now she was stuck among the waves, searching endlessly for a new land that she could call 'home.'

Yelling snapped her out of her stupor. Coming from above deck, the noise carried all the way down till it pounded in Tetra's own ears. Or perhaps that was her own blood that boiled in her veins.

She hurried outside, only what she expected to find was bliss compared to what it was she saw. Gonzo-Gonzo of all her crew!-was chasing Mako around with one of the fish that Link and Niko had brought up. His brows were knitted in anger, and he uttered curses loud and clear as he raced around deck.

The others were standing to the side, giving shouts of encouragement to both parties.

Tetra felt her stomach flip and her lips curl once again. She would give them a minute to stop with their ridiculous behavior, and if they did not, well, she would have each and every one of them walk the plank while she hacked at them with her sword.

Their time ran out quickly, but now it was Mako who chased Tetra's own second in command about deck.

She took a few steps forward and cleared her throat. "Oi!" she yelled at the top of her lungs and into the air.

Mako and Gonzo froze in their tracks and turned to their captain in what easily could be distinguished as fear. Link and the other's had stopped their shouts. They stood in silence as they awaited Tetra's next words. Only Nudge seemed wholly unamused with what had just presided.

"How pathetic," Tetra near whispered. "Niko! Get rid of these fish, now! Gonzo, aren't you supposed to be-oh, I don't know-steering the damned ship? If you aren't supposed to be actually doing something then get rid of the fish. I swear, if I see so much as a scale I'll-" Tetra paused, catching herself before she screamed out anything else in her fury.

She closed her eyes and inhaled. "Get to it then!" she shouted out. She watched the crew hurry along deck, their eyes cast down as silence hung over them. Even Link had fallen quiet, and right as he was about to help Niko with the fish a thought, similar to the broodings of those that Tetra experiences only minutes before, came to Tetra's mind.

"Link," she called out.

She watched as his body stiffened and the way his eyes flashed to Niko. Slowly he made his way over till he stood before Tetra. She looked up at him, wondering when it was he had grown.

He let out a cough. "Yes, Miss?" he asked.

Tetra blinked, surprised at his use of her title, rather than her name. At least he had the sense to know when it was that he should hold some proper decency. "Come with me," she said finally.

The pair made their way to her bedchamber, and, closing the door behind them, Tetra pointed to the bed. "Sit," she ordered. The hero looked at her in confusion, but obeyed nonetheless.

Slowly Tetra began to pace before him. Her arms were wound around her body, and she looked at the wooden boards beneath her feet with far too much interest. She was trying to figure out what to say to Link, who continued to look at her expectantly. Well, she knew what she wanted to say, but how? That was an entirely different story, and it filled her with an odd sort of dread.

"I've let you come with us for a reason," she said finally. "That reason solely being the fact that we were told to find this new land. This new Hyrule that is not to be hidden far beneath waves. And, since this 'mission' has begun five years ago, have we made any progress?"

Link opened his mouth to respond, but Tetra cut him off. "No, of course not. We've been sailing in circles and in seas I've never even heard of but we have found nothing. Of course we've found land, but how can we be expected to find something that is completely unoccupied and meant for our taking? Oh, that's right, we don't."

Tetra stopped speaking and continued to pace around the room. "And..." Link started, urging her own and being completely uncertain of what it was she was trying to tell him.

"And I think we should give it up. Finding this new land I mean." She turned her back to the Hero of Winds and sighed. "Is there even a point?" she asked, more to the portrait of her mother than to Link.

He was silent for a moment. "Tetra," he began, "I don't know. I know just as much as you and... that isn't much. The King of Red Lions wanted us to-"

"So now what you're saying is that you take orders from a however thousand year old king and believe all that he says? Not all those who are old are wise."

"Then what? Do you think everything that has happened, from Ganon to Hyrule, was all a lie? So you weren't actually almost killed because of it? Tetra, it has to be real." Link stood from the bed and walked over to her. "We've come so far already, do you really want to give everything up now?" he asked softly. He was about to put a hand on her shoulder, but quickly Tetra moved away.

"You may leave now," she said stiffly. "I will skin you all alive if I hear any more noise on deck, am I understood?"

Link studied her for a moment, and she felt herself shrink down under her gaze. "Of course," he said. No more words were said between them, and silence fell once more as the door shut behind him.

* * *

**A/N: *waves* Welcome old and new readers alike. First and foremost, I feel like I should apologize to any old readers for suddenly just stopping mid-way through. (It wasn't just this story, I just had an entirely too long dry spell) So, in honor of the release of WW HD (guess who spent all of her money on the Zelda Wii U), I've decided to rewrite and finish this story. Wow, if you've read the other version's notes you probably think I'm an entirely different person... The next chapter should be up tomorrow afternoon.**

**Some important things to note:  
- There are things that are changing when compared to the other version of this, as in the fixation of plot-holes, the alteration of Zale's character so she isn't so... mary-sueish, the one-year age change to Link and Tetra, obvious dialogue, and some plot.  
**

**- Disregard Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks for this story. Why? Because when I first started writing this, I hadn't yet played PH and ST was not yet out, SO, bear with me? **

**Thanks! **


	2. Chapter 2

**_Pirates of the Seas: II_**

Link leaned against the ship's railing and wiped his hands on his trousers. He smelt of fish, rotten at that, and of salt. The sky was already beginning to glow a fiery red, and finally the deck was clean. Niko swept the boards with a mop one last time, and when he noticed Link watching him he raised a hand in greeting.

The blue-capped pirate made his way over in a rather sluggish way. "What did the Miss want?" he asked when he approached.

"Nothin'," he responded. It was all he was able to say.

"The boy says 'nothin,' what d'you think of that?" Senza called out from across deck. He gave a laugh and made his way over. "You looked like you'd seen some of the dead, with the way you looked when you came back out, so don't you be sayin' 'nothin' to me, boy."

Zuko peaked over from the crow's nest having heard the conversation taking place below. "There's nothin' goin' on 'tween you and the Miss, is there?" he called down.

"Aye, I think that be the case, with this and-" Senza began to say until Niko cut him off.

"All of ya pirates, you leave my lad be. It's not up to you to tell 'em what he does with the Miss in his spare time."

The words were supposed to be helpful in a way, but Link's eyes narrowed and he hit the smaller pirate in the back of the head with a dull thud. Off to the side Gonzo was looking on to the scene, namely at Link, with his chin raised and face contorted in what appeared to be distaste.

"What in the name of the Goddesses are you going on about," Link began to say. "I already told you, she didn't want anything." But even as he said the words, he knew that even the other's could hear his lack of conviction.

However, it seemed that the other's were willing to leave it at that, so they turned their attention away and got back to their own business. Niko stayed for a moment, silently debating whether or not he should stay and speak with Link, but a sharp look from the other party sent him hurrying away.

Not that Link minded in any regard. Rather, he was glad for the silence, and he wasn't exactly overly fond of the pirates constantly asking about his relations and whereabouts at all times of the day. He went out to have a drink when they came onto shore? Why, he must've been with Tetra. Went to buy supplies-for the pirates, nonetheless? Must've been with Tetra. Had to take a piss? Well, most certainly he must've been with Tetra. Because he could stay alongside the overbearing pirate captain for more than a few at a time without her making a sly remark on whatever it was that was occurring.

Link turned out to sea and propped his chin on his hands. That wasn't to say he didn't like her, no, that was far from the case, and it seemed that the rest of the crew knew that fact all too well. Sure, he cared about the girl, but when one has to save the aforementioned party from a Dark Lord, one tends to get attached.

They'd been stuck with each other through thick and thin. That reason alone would explain the shock that ran through his entire being when she spoke to him earlier. When she asked him if they should just give up on finding the land they had been tasked with to find, well, he's lucky he was even able to form coherent sentences at that point.

"Is there even a point?" she had asked.

To be entirely honest, Link wasn't even sure. But to give up on what they had spent their past five years doing? Surely Tetra could see what was wrong with what it was she inquired about. It was a strange thought, and it sent chills up Link's back every time her question repeated itself in his mind.

He straightened up and slammed his hands on the wooden railing. He'd get himself his own boat, even if it was a small sailboat barely large enough for him to fit. He'd get himself his own boat if Tetra refused to continue on with their journey. He'd go out on his own, and alone he'd find himself a new Hyrule.

Link near hit his head off the railing. He sounded ridiculous, and he knew that if he told any of the crew they'd laugh right in his face.

He shook the thoughts from his head. Slowly he made his way back below deck to where he had his own dank cot set up, snug in the recesses of the ship. Without even bothering to change he fell onto the makeshift bed. He was forced to pause for a moment, to check if the bed was his.

The pirates were forced to rotate their cots even so often, due to everyone wanting to be closer to the door. If you were closer to the door, well, you were closer to the food that came with the rising sun.

Link's final thoughts were of the next morning's meal, and with them he fell into a deep sleep, despite the fact that the sun had not yet set. Tetra wouldn't yell at him, she was off in her own room sulking. And if the crew said anything about the fact he would hit them over the head with the flat of his sword.

* * *

_"Come to me, my child king  
Take my hand and walk with me  
There will be a crown to bring down the world  
And it shall be on your head  
Yet forget what the men have said to you  
For a heart as yours is gold and true." _

_The song echoed all around him, bathed in the blackness of the voids and of silence. He himself felt disembodied, and the song ran through his essence, becoming him till he had no sense of what he previously was. _

_"Is he alright?" someone asked. Just as the song had, the voice ran through him, and he felt himself shrink down against its might. "This is the one? Is this a sort of joke?" _

_"Hardly," said another. "You have seen what has happened. We all have." _

_"He is but a child." _

_"There are no rules saying he cannot be a child." _

_"There are no rules at all." _

_Silence engulfed him once more as the short lived argument died out into the void. His body, or what was supposed to have been his body, trembled with a force tenfold that of the voices as someone or, rather, something seemed to bear itself to his very essence. _

_And just as it had started, it had vanished, and he was left with an emptiness that would drive any living man to his own death. Yet in its place came his senses, after what seemed to be ages of darkness. But there was no time in the voids, for they were as endless as the ideology of time itself. _

_Slowly his body returned to him, and he felt the rise and fall of his stomach with every shuddering breath he managed to take. He opened his eyes then, or so he had believed, for nothing but darkness flooded his vision. _

_So he sat there in complete blackness, and he began to wonder if he was dead. Perhaps he had been killed in his sleep, his throat slit or his heart stabbed. Or, maybe, as a pain as sharp as a thousand daggers burying themselves into his gut, his entrails had been sliced out. _

_"When faced with a bliss so pure your mind goes to believing that you are dead? Is that how wretched such enjoyment is to your kind? Surely no, I would not think." _

_The pain lifted from his body, and he was left swaying in the voids while enticed in a fit of delusion. _

_"But such is beside the point. There are many challenges in this life, and you have seen more than most, unless my sight has begun to fail me." _

_The new voice was a welcoming one in comparison with the others. It wound around his body, filling him with a sense of comfort, but hardly one false. _

_"I have seen your thoughts. You do not think of death, or of hate. But of life and of love. That is why you are one of the chosen. You are not here to be guided blindly by those who know nothing of such things, for to do so is to be utterly lost and it is not in your mind to do so. You would be lost among lost men, and so I ask you, please, to not stray to such a path. _

_"Great Hero, my child, you are not far from that which you seek. Tell your Lady of Wisdom, and warn her not to stray. For she is far too near the edge that will be her downfall. Warn her, and do not let her stray, lest you both bring the world as you know it into a blackness far worse than this." _

_The warmth of the voice lifted from his body, and he used all of his might to reclaim it. But quickly it fled into the dark, only to be replaced with the solidity of a heated body. _

_"Farewell my child, my Hero of Winds." _

Link rose with a start, his eyes wild as they scanned the shadowed room. Sweat rolled down his chest and beaded at the nape of his neck, dampening his hair that had fallen from its uphold. His ears rang and his body shook, and he near fell from his bed as he tried to rise.

Above him shouts were beginning to rise out into the night, and they were far too reckless to be a simple squalor that might be held between the crewmembers.

So with heightened senses he felt his way up above deck, where the crew was gathered alongside the railing of the deck.

Link made his way over to them, near stumbling as he squinted into the light of the night, still far stronger than that of his dream.

"What's going on?" he managed to ask, although it took him a few tries.

"Zuko spotted a ship," answered Mako, paying no heed to Link's disheveled appearance. "Heading straight towards us. Gonzo steered us in another direction, and there it goes following us."

Niko pushed his way in between the two. "Zuko says they've cannons out and all."

"Aye, boy," said Nudge. "So if you've a sword and some armor, I'd go get it if I're you."

Link rubbed his eyes and stared out to sea. There it was, just as promised, a dark shadow of a ship on the horizon that made its way slowly to their own party. Large shadowed flags hung from its masts, and a sense of dark foreboding knotted in Link's gut as the song that had played in his dreams came to mind once again.

* * *

**A/N: A day late, I know, but I was sick. And now I'm making excuses. But I do like this chapter a whole lot more than it's original counterpart. However, I'm only planning on rewriting if people are interested, if not I've been trying to update some other stories, so... But yeah, anyways, hope you enjoyed! Chapter 3 should be up soon. Thanks for reading (and, of course, reviewing is always nice, so thanks in advance?)!**


	3. Chapter 3

**_Pirates of the Seas: III_**

The ship lurched to the side, rocking on the waves of an angry sea and holding itself strong against... something. What it was Tetra did not know. But the force had woken her from her sleep, and it was too large just to be dismissed as the sea itself. Had they run ashore, or had Gonzo, supposed to have been steering the ship, gotten preoccupied and let them run into rocks?

Whatever the cause, it filled Tetra with a deep twist of annoyance and anger in her gut. So she pushed herself from her bed and quickly donned her clothing, slamming the drawers to her dresser with unnecessary force.

Through her brooding silence she listened to the shouts that came down from above deck. Those did not bother her at first, for at least it meant the crew still awake knew that they had done something wrong. But as Tetra hooked her scabbard to her belt she noticed that the shouts were only met with more, and she knew that something else had happened.

Now her stomach rolled with annoyance and anger, but there was also a small seed of worry buried far below. Moving to open the door, she near broke her own hand as it flew open on its own accord.

In the doorway stood Link, donned in mail and a green tunic. Tetra almost laughed, for long ago had Link since grown out of the hero's tunic once given to him by his grandmother all those years before. This one was a makeshift, more well-suited to sailing the open seas in both design and lightness. Tetra had made it for him for his birthday one year as a joke of sorts, but he had taken to it immediately, as a reminder of what had once passed.

The laugh that grew in Tetra's throat, however, was silenced as Link sprung into the room and place a hand over her mouth. He kicked shut the door and Tetra grabbed at his hand, trying to pry him away.

"What are you doing?" she managed to yell out though his fingers. It was meant to sound intimidating, to sound as a threat, but her voice only sounded as a thing of worry.

"Hush would you," he hissed. He opened the trap door, hidden neatly in plain sight upon the floor of Tetra's room. It led to below deck, where her crew kept their own cots among storage.

Link near dragged Tetra below deck, ignoring her entirely as she began to struggle against him. Once there she pulled away, almost stumbling into a stack of crates.

"What are you doing, damn it!" she repeated, louder this time. She opened her mouth to continue, to lecture Link some more, but she finally caught sight of him in the dimmed light of the lanterns that hung above. Sweat drenched his body and spots of red dappled his tunic. His blue eyes were wide with what could quite possibly be fear and anxiety, and his hair, now long and kept in a neat ponytail and the nape of his neck, hung around his pallid face like a mop. A scratch lined his cheek, and he used the shoulder of his tunic to wipe the blood away.

"We're under attack," he managed to say.

Tetra felt her brow furrow. "Then why aren't you up there fighting?" she asked in annoyance. Worry had finally overtaken her, and she tried to run around Link and above deck. But he stepped in front of her, blocking the way. His hand gripped her shoulders and he forced her back.

"No," he said, "I've been ordered to get you to safety! Now come on!"

"Ordered?" Tetra yelled out. "Ordered by who? I'm the captain and I give the orders!"

She watched as anger flickered across Link's face. She knew she was being irrational now, for more often than not Link knew what it was he was doing. And if he was worried about an attack, then she had all the more reason to be just as worried.

"These pirates, these people, something - I don't know! - they know that you are Zelda! Don't you understand? We need to go. The others said they'd hold them off-"

"You think I'm afraid of pirates?" she laughed out with scorn. Her pride then entirely spoke through her, and deep in her gut she knew she was about to do the entirely wrong thing. "You think I'm going to let my crew, my family, stay on my ship and get killed defending me? Damn that idea!"

She took off for above deck once again, but this time Link stayed in place, looking after her with his brows knit it worry. As she ran up stairs, she heard the footfalls of Link coming close behind.

She kicked open the final door, and the darkness of the night met her eyes with a sudden force, for it was perverted with flames and flashes of color that ran across deck. Shouts rang out into the night, and, for a moment, Tetra stood petrified as she took in what went on around her.

To the left a second pirate ship rested right up against her own, so close that a plank was not even needed to cross between the two.

Link almost ran into her as he came up from behind. Just as Tetra turned her attention to him, a shout sounded from all too near. She half expected Link's eyes to hold a mocking 'I told you so,' but all there was in his eyes was fear. But quickly it faded into determination as he pushed her aside to block the incoming slash of a sword with his own.

Tetra quickly shook her previous thoughts from her mind, and she drew her own blade. Knowing Link to have his own situation fully dealt with, she leapt into the fray. Shouts and the sharp sound of metallic clangs filled her ears, but she did best to ignore it.

She tried sighting her own crew as in the darkness. The large shadows across deck must be Gonzo and Senza she decided quickly. Turning to her side she saw Mako. And she saw the man who was fighting Mako. Broader and taller than even Nudge, the large pirate held a massive sword of his own that he swung wildly around, trying to land a hit on the smaller pirate.

But Mako, ever the masterful tactician, danced around his quickly, using his speed to his advantage. But plans never go accordingly, and the large pirate kicked out his leg and managed to said Mako sprawling to the ground, unconscious.

It was then that Tetra finally realized what was happening around her, and immediately she sprang to her crewmates defense. She drew her own blade to meet with the downstroke of the other pirate. Her arms jarred against the blow, even as she managed to brace herself.

The other pirate stepped back and studied her for a moment before declaring: "I am Murdo! Servant of the seas! And now you die, girl." Without another word he swung out his sword with astounding force, and Tetra quickly ducked beneath it, knowing fully well that if she were any slower her head would be rolling across deck.

As she dodged the pirates blows, adrenaline coursed through her body. She parried his blows, but the impact stunned her for a moment and she could not counter. Even her speed failed her, and she cursed through gritted teeth, for she had become a training dummy for a fool.

The man who called himself Murdo raised his blade, preparing to strike her down for good. Just as she raised her blade to catch the blow she realized her mistake. Murdo kicked out at her instead, seeing her exposed mid-section, and he caught her right beneath her ribs.

She fell backwards as the wind escape her. Her sword fell from her hands, and when she landed on the ground she quickly grabbed out for it. She cursed herself silently, knowing fully well that she should have seen the blow coming, for Mako had fallen in almost the same way.

She had just grabbed her blade as she watched Murdo finally bring his sword down against her. But a flash of green caught her eye, and, just as she had jumped in front of Mako, Link just in front of her.

Tetra tried to climb to her feet once her sword was finally in hand, but pain shot through her torso, and she quickly went to the ground once again.

Before her the blade of Link and Murdo were locked, each pushing against the other to gain the advantage. Tetra was filled with a sudden dread as she was reminded of Link's battle with Ganondorf. Murdo was similar in stature, with the same build and height, and foreboding air that seemed to engulf him.

She slowly pushed herself away from the battle with her hands and feet, crawling backwards despite the pain that spread throughout her stomach. She felt as if she were about to be sick, and her head began to swim.

Still she tried to keep her eyes open, more out of annoyance that she should be rendered so helpless by such a cheap blow than anything else. She cursed into the night, knowing that she should have left with Link.

Link. She looked over to where the once-hero had knocked the sword from Murdo's hands. He pointed his own blade at the pirate, and whatever he said sent the larger man stumbling back in surprise and fear. Link raised his sword for a final blow, and, watching him with spotted vision, Tetra wondered if he'd actually kill the man.

A yell sounded out into the night, and it was all that Tetra chose to hear. For though she had been expecting the dull grunt of a deathblow to be landed on Murdo, the noise had come from a voice all to familiar.

She watched in her daze as Link fell to the ground, crumpling into a heap unto himself. A silhouette of a woman stood beside him, her hair silver in the light of the moon. She slid her sword into its sheath as she studied the fallen body.

It was then that she noticed Tetra, half unconscious and half petrified. She made her way over, completely ignorant of the scene around them. Kneeling down before the pirate captain, she gave a small smile.

"My name is Zale. And you must be Zelda," she cooed in false adoration. She noticed as Tetra moved to her blade, so she grabbed at her neck. "No no, killing me won't do you any good, I should think." She moved her fingers around Tetra's neck and pressed down onto a pressure point, and it was by that way that Tetra finally felt consciousness slip from her.

The last words she heard were Zale's, ringing out clear against the noise of the fighting: "Murdo, get the boy, would you!"

* * *

**A/N: Sorry this is kindasorta lateish? I think? I actually half-broke my spacebar so it takes me a lot longer to type than I'd like. But yeah, hope you enjoyed this chapter! And, of course, feedback is always welcome! Like it, hate it, want to kill me now? Let me know! Next chapter will be within a week, since I feel I need to make myself reasonable deadlines. Or, maybe I might get to it sooner, who knows? Thanks!**


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